Deafening Silence
by Taisi
Summary: After loving something for so long, and finding it wrenched from your grasp, the only thing you can think about is the pain. Slight Yamachi/Taito
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Digimon? Yeah, I own it. Mm-hmm, I-- :collects glares from lawyers: Alright, alright, I don't...Jeez. Okay, and I think they live in Odaiba, right? ...Right? Oh, well.**

**I was inspired by "A Million Peices". That fic's a lot better than mine, and to the author of that fic, I really am not meaning to copy you! I just couldn't help myself. And I know Yamato's family split up! I'm going to make them split up in my story, okay? Sorry! And I gave his dad my own personality.**

**And they'll use their English names in this story. - Okay? Well, at the end of this chappie anyway.**

Deafening Silence

Chapter 1

Yamato Ishida ambled down the sidewalk toward the school hopelessly, running a hand through his perfect blonde hair. They'd, he, his father, his mother and little brother, moved to Odaiba a few days ago, and had settled in easily; they moved around a lot, so Yamato had become quite adaptable to new places. He didn't like it, though. They never stayed in one place long enough for the eleven year old to make any new friends.

He'd learned how to get by without friends, anyway. They never hung around him. He always drove them away. Occasionally, there'd be a few who stayed around for a while longer, but then they too gave up on him.

Who needs _friends? _Not him.

oooOOOOOOooo

Clutching his school schedule, Yamato found his new classroom. One hand on the handle, he closed his brilliant blue eyes for a moment, then opened the door. The class was talking animatedly with one another, but one by one, they fell silent at the sight of this new kid. Several of the girls giggled to each other and a couple of the guys waved. However, Yamato put on a passive "do NOT mess with me" look, and they stopped the friendly gestures, looking offended.

_Good job, Ishida, _said a voice in his head. _Making friends everywhere you go. Just making friends._

He told the little annoying voice to call someone who cared.

Just then, the teacher intercepted him on his way to a chair by the window away from everyone else. "Hello, Ishida, is it? I'm your new Sensei," the woman was all smiles. "Welcome to our class."

Yamato nodded respectively to her, and she let him sit down. "Now, class," Sensei continued. "I want you to make Yamato Ishida feel very comfortable, okay?"

The class murmured it's affirmative, but the glare that was sent their way by their new classmate told them he'd be most comfortable left alone. They obliged, skuttling around to take their seats, preferably _away _from Ishida, but didn't realize that they'd just failed the first of his tests; everyone did. He sighed and turned to look out the window.

Then he heard someone sit in the chair next to him, and he spun around. A boy his age with unruly brown hair and huge dark eyes was grinning at him; he had the look of someone who wore a natural smile. He was tall, athletic-looking, and had a pair of goggles around his neck. He seemed to be friendlier than anyone else in the class. "I'm Taichi Kamiya," he siad in an easy-going voice.

Yamato just stared at him, then turned away. _Ignore him and he'll go away. Just like everyone else. _There was silence, so Matt figured he must've left. He lowered his chin onto the desk miserably. _Why do I have to do that to _anybody _that comes near me?_

"So, how do you like our new school so far?" Yamato turned to see Taichi was still looking at him, eyes taking in everything he saw. "I know it's only the first class, but school's not that bad."

"I _was _just fine," Yamato snapped, looking back out the window.

"Yeah, you probably think I'm annoying don't you?"

"You nailed that one, genius."

Yamato was startled to see, in the reflection of the window, Taichi smile at the insult. "Yeah, I'm not too good at first impressions," he replied in a smooth tone, completely unaffected by Yamato's sharp words. "But I guess I get along okay."

_This kid is weird, _Yamato thought, but couldn't help adding, _He's okay though..._

_No! He's _not _okay, he's going to leave you just like all your other so-called 'friends' did before! Don't trust him!_

"So, do you have a brother or a sister?"

The question caught him unawares. This kid was good at changing topic. "Yeah...Takeru, my little brother." A mental slap; _Don't talk to him! _But Taichi had a strange knack of getting him to talk.

"I have a little sister, Hikari," he replied leaning back in his chair. "She's alright, I guess. We don't really fight or anything."

Yamato turned away again, trying his hardest to ignore the boy, to no avail. Taichi seemed to have a way of making you _want _to talk to him. He kept his mouth shut, though, and concentrated on the glass panel.

Thent he bell rang. Yamato glanced up and around as all the kids got up and filed out of the class. Looking down at his schedule, the next class was "Cafeteria". _Where the heck is the cafeteria?_

"Great! Lunch! I'm starving!" Taichi said, and Yamato saw he was waiting for him. "C'mon! Wanna sit with me?"

Yamato found himself nodding. _What is wrong with me? Why am I...making a friend?_

Taichi grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the door, down the hall and down some stairs, collecting stares from everyone as he did. He didn't seem to notice, but Yamato did. Jerking his arm out of Taichi's hold at the bottom of the steps he said, "People are staring."

"So?" came an indifferent reply.

"What do you mean 'so'?" Yamato snapped quietly, uncomfortable under the eyes of some kids peering down at them from an above landing. "Don't you care?"

"Not really. If they don't have anything better to do with their time than stare at us, that's their problem."

Yamato just looked at him. "You are the weirdest person I know," he said finally. Taichi grinned and continued leading the way into the cafeteria.

"That's okay," he said, scanning the room for a place to sit. "Hm...Sora and Mimi transfered to another school, and Izzy and Joe are in different grades so you'll have to meet them later."

Yamato listened to what sounded like nicknames for everyone Taichi named off. Before he could say anything he was being dragged to the lunchline to collect his food. Surprisingly, the food was quite edible-looking, and Tai's tray was loaded in seconds. They paid, then sat down at an empty table.

"Hey, Tai!" came several voices from across the room. "C'mere! Come sit with us!"

Yamato looked down at his food. _This is when Taichi Kamiya leaves to sit with his friends and forgets he ever met me. _

"Sorry!" Taichi called back. "I'm sitting with Matt!"

Yamato felt himself grin, then he blinked. _He's sitting with who?_

"Oh, you don't mind if I call you Matt, do you?"

_Yes! Say yes! You _do _mind! _"No, that's fine." _What is wrong with you Ishida? _

Taichi beamed at him, food forgotten. "Great! Then you can call me Tai!"

Yamato, now Matt, looked at his tray again, trying not to laugh. "Alright, Tai."

oooOOOOOOooo

Matt opened the door to his apartment, ushering Tai inside. He dropped his pack on the chair by the door and called, "Dad! I'm home!"

"Okay, I'll be right out!"

Tai looked around their spacious apartment appreciatively. "Nice place you got."

Matt glanced up quickly to see if it was sarcasm, but relaxed when it wasn't. "Yeah. We just finsihed unpacking yesterday."

"Do you move a lot?" Tai asked, still examining his surroundings, back to Matt.

"Yeah." Matt saw a dark shadow of worry flicker across Tai's eyes. "But we probably won't move away from here for a while."

Then, the click of a phone being dropped onto the reciever was heard, and a tall, good-looking man entered the room. He had laughlines around his face, and his blue eyes sparkled. Tai knew he'd like him already. Spotting Tai, he looked at Matt. "Who's this Yamato?"

"Er, Dad, this is Tai...Taichi Kamiya." Tai bowed silently, respectful. Matt was impressed that he could actually be silent when he wanted to, and continued, "I met him at school today."

Mr. Ishida looked at Tai in a new light. "Really?"

Matt nodded, suddenly hesitant. "Yeah...He was wondering if...that is..."

"Could Matt spend the weekend at my place?" Tai asked for him, looking at his father certainly. "I could show him around Odaiba, no problem."

Mr. Ishida looked from one boy to another, then burst out laughing. Tai looked at Matt, to see whether or not this was a good sign, and Matt sighed, releived. His dad said, "Sure, sure, you boys have fun!"

Leaing the apartment, Matt with a duffel bag, Tai said, "Ya know, I think you're Dad's a nice guy."

"Only because you got what you wanted."

oooOOOOOOooo

Upon arriving at the Kamiya residence, they walked through the door to find a group of people gathered around in Tai's living room. There was a girl dressed completely in pink, a girl who looked like a tomboy, a small kid with a laptop, and a tall, lanky boy with round glasses. "Guys!" Tai said, throwing Matt's bag on the couch. "What are you doing here?"

"Kari told us you were bring a new friend over," the boy with the computer said.

Kari earned a glare from her older brother as she came out of their bedroom.

"Okay, Matt, this is Izzy, Joe, Sora, Mimi and Kari." He gestured at each of them in turn as he said their names. "And this"--a wave at Matt--"is Matt."

Two Months Later...

"So," Tai said, sliding into place beside Matt as Sensei called role. "How's life been treatin' ya?"

Matt didn't answer, he stared out the window, and felt, truly, as if the moon had just dropped out of the sky.

"Matt?" Tai leaned across his desk to look at him. "What's up?"

No answer.

"Matt, tell me what's wrong or I'll get the others involved!" Tai threatened feircly, knowing that the last thing anyone would want would be Sora on a "friend's feeling bad" case.

A mumbled response, through the cotton of his sleeve:

"I'm moving."

Matt looked up in time to see the horror reflected in Tai's eyes, before Tai turned away.

**Okay, first chappie. I had to write this. I'm sorry! I just had to do it. And yes, I'm still working on Threatening Destruction. It's proving difficult.**

**Aku: RUN FOR IT!**

**Me: What the heck, Aku?**

**Aku: It's...It's...Writer's Block!**

**Both:scream and dive under a rock:**

**Me: A rock, so original, no one'll think to look under here!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, I would not be writing this, but be making it an episode.**

**Okay, I couldn't wait to type this chappie! And if you're wondering what Matt means by the sun, go back to the end of the last chappie.**

Deafening Silence

Chapter 2

Tai paced beside the car impatiently. "Mom, hurry up! I've _got _to get to Matt's place and _try _to convince his dad not to move!"

His mom smiled with an exaggerated patience as she finsihed putting the groceries in the back of the car. Hikari raced to put the cart back in it's place, then ran back, slipping into the front passenger seat before Tai could. "Shotgun." She smiled coyly when he glared at her, climbing into the back.

"Mom, can't you go any faster?" Tai whined, watched cars zip past them. "It _is _important that I get to Matt's house!"

"There's...something wrong with the break..." Kari and Tai looked over at the driver at once; Ms. Kamiya was struggling with the brake petal, frowning. Tai and Kari traded looks, then leaned forward to look at the object of their mother's distress. Suddenly, the blaring of a horn made Tai look up and gasp.

"Mom! Look out!"

Kari and Ms. Kamiya looked up, wide-eyed, but it was too late.

They were hit head-on by a truck.

oooOOOOOOooo

Tai woke up in the hospital. His body was one big ache, and when he experimentally moved one of his stiff arms, a fresh bolt of pain shot through him. He sat up, dazed. Voices erupted from all around him, making him dizzy.

"He's awake!"

"Oh, I was so worried!"

"Someone get the doctor!"

"Shut it, guys, we're too loud!"

Tai looked around him as everything slowly stopped spinning and the voices settled down. "What the heck happened...?" he muttered thickly shifting to a comfortable sitting position on the stiff hospital bed; Sora, Izzy, Joe, TK, Matt and Mimi were there, with Mr. Ishida, staring at him, relieved. Then the memories came rushing back. "Wait...Where's mom? And Kari?"

His friends exchanged quick glances. He took that as a bad sign. "Tell me," he said forcefully, rubbing his bandaged chest, "what happened to them."

"They were...thrown from the car...T-they broke their necks, Tai...They're...dead."

Tai felt sick. He fell back against the pillows, looking lost. He felt two hands grasp both of his, and he looked down to see Sora and Matt on either side of the bed. "Tai..." Sora whispered. "We're really sorry..."

"Why? You didn't do anything. ...I shouldn't've let Kari take the front seat. Then maybe she'd be alive--"

"--and you'd be dead," Matt finished, blue eyes flashing.

Tai looked at him, defeated. "I never did get to your place did I?"

Matt went pale; he turned to look at his dad, but his dad had left the room. "No, but that's okay, Tai...We're not going to move."

"How come?"

"Because _my best friend was in a car accident!" _he siad slowly, ennunciating each word as if Tai were mentally impaired.

"I guess that's a good reason."

Matt opened his mouth hottly, but realized Tai was trying to make light of the situation. Matt knew if it were him who'd lost everyone, he wouldn't be...strong enough to keep going. He attempted a smile, a feat he thought lost to him before Tai had stepped into his life. "Yeah, it sure would make the cut."

At that time, the doctor came in and told everyone Tai would be able to go home the next day if he didn't overexhaust himself; no one mentioned that he no longer had a home to go to. A house, maybe, but not a home.

oooOOOOOOooo

Matt and the others left for school early the next day. Tai didn't mind; at least he _said _he didn't mind. Matt had hung around a while after, until the nurse came. Now he was looking for his dad. He found him at the front desk, filling something out. Matt crept up behind him, peering over his shoulder. His eyes widened and he stammered, "Adoption forms!"

oooOOOOOOooo

Tai and Matt sat outside the office, different thoughts pounding through their skulls.

_I can't beleive dad just up and decided to _adopt _my best friend? What the heck was he _thinking? _Right after his mom dies, too!...But then, if he _hadn't _Tai might've been adopted off to some family that lives half-way across the globe...I mean, it wouldn't take long for Taichi to be adopted...But it still wasn't right! _

_Ow...owowowowowow...I can't beleive their gone...Should I be alive? ...Maybe I should be dead too...I dont suppose I could tell my friends that...They'd probably kill me themselves. Especially Matt...He'd wring my neck, bring me back from the dead, then do it again. But...Mr. Ishida's gonna _adopt _me...This is so weird...I c-can't think...My head hurts..._

Mr. Ishida opened the office door, stepped out, then shut it again. He let out a breathe he'd obviously been holding, and eyes the two boys in front of him. They both looked at him, Matt's eyes filled with indignance, Tai's with pain and resignation.

"Tai...I don't suppose you'd want to keep your last name?"

Tai was about to say he really didn't care anymore, but something stopped him; couldn't he at least respect his sister and mother enough to keep his natural name? "Yes. Yes, I do."

Mr. Ishida nodded, and ducked back inside the child agency office. Matt looked side-long at Tai; he was rubbing his bandanged arm, head leaned back against the wall, eyes shut, face relaxed. He couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. "Hey," he muttered. "You okay?"

"Two awful things happen in one day. Maybe we should take that as an omen." It was Tai's way of shrugging off the attention, but it wasn't going to work.

Matt glared at him. "Good answer."

"Wasn't it, though?" Tai was silent for a second then he blurted, "Are we best friends, or brothers?"

The question caught Matt off-guard. He stared at Tai for a second, contemplating the answer. Then he slung his arm around Tai's shoulders, carefully so as not to upset his hurt arm, and said, "Both."

oooOOOOOOooo

Tai had refused to skip school. Somehow, however, word hard spread about the incident. They looked at the two boys in a new light, whispering to each other when they passed them in the hall, either about Tai's injuries, or about the whole situation in general. Tai did his best to ignore them, leaning on his friend for support as he minced down the hall, but Matt didn't have his netruel pacience. "Ya know," he said loudly, glaring around him at their muttering peers, "If people are gonna whisper, they might as well talk like normal, because _we can hear them!"_

The whole hall silenced at once.

Tai sighed, concentrating on walking, trying not to wince at every step. "Matt, can't you just let 'em be?" he asked quietly. "They're gonna talk about it anyway."

Matt just shook his head, opening the door to their classroom for Tai. "They shouldn't."

Tai managed a chuckle at that. "Are you kidding? The two most popular boys at school are now living under the same roof? That's years worth of gossip."

"Yeah, yeah, I s'pose."

Matt took the seat by the window, and Tai sat next to him. There was silence, then Tai said,"Hey, ya know what? This is exactly the place we met, and were you did your best to get rid of me."

Matt froze. All that time ago...He had been sure he would go through his life completely friendless...He was sure Tai would give up on him...Sure he'd leave him alone again...But here he was...They'd become such close friends that Matt's dad had felt compelled to _adopt _him before letting anyone else in on it. Matt smiled. "Never thought you'd stick around."

"Ya know, Sora, Izzy, Joe, and Mimi are gonna find out I've been adopted," Tai said meekly.

Matt groaned. "You insist on reminding me."

"We'll tell them today."

"Who said you were boss?"

"No one said I wasn't."

"True enough, I s'pose...But why today?"

"Why not? We'll have to sooner or later, and they'll just get mad if we put it off," Tai grinned as Matt scowled. "Especially Sora and Mimi."

"Well, yeah..."

At that time, a truly gosspiy, bubbly, shameless girl bounced up in front of them, smirking. "Is it true that your mom and sister died in a car crash and you live with Ishida?" she asked Tai, not losing a beat.

The two boys stared at her, then Tai looked away. Matt stood up, glaring at her. "If you know what's best...You'd leave...Now."

The girl hadn't known that it was actually the truth, and was abashed. She backed up a few steps, sympathetic eyes playing on Tai, then turned and ran away.

Matt turned to look at his friend who was silent, still staring at the floor. "Er, sorry, about her, Tai, she--"

"Naaah, she was just being her usual self. She can't help that," the boy said easily, leaning smoothly back in his chair. He grinned weakly at Matt, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Matt sat down as the Sensei called for silence. He watched Tai slide back into a normal seating position, running his hand through his unruly brown hair. His goggles lay around his neck and his scarlet eyes gleamed with pain and hurt, but there was something else there too...Something like content. How could he be content? His family just died!

_Yes, _said another voice, _but he didn't. He's alive, and only slightly wounded. He's living with his best friend, and his friends are still here for him._

Matt was struck dumb as he continued to stare at Tai. How could he be happy with that? His life's been ruined!

_Tai's that kind of person._

One Month Later...

Tai laughed as he ran out of the room he and Matt shared in the three-room apartment. He passed his father, who slid out of the way in time while reading the newspaper, clutching Matt's battered harmonica.

"Tai!" came an enraged yell from the room he'd just evacuated. "Give that back!"

Mr. Ishida moved aside in time to avoid a run-in with his biological son as the blonde tore after Tai. He flipped the page in the newspaper, still reading.

Tai was a faster runner, but he soon ran out of hallway; he tore into the kitchen then through the doorway that led to the den. Matt caught him there, prying the harmonica from his fingers. "Don't do that, Tai!" he yelled, stowing the instrument in his pocket.

Tai grinned, completely unabashed. "Awww, Yamato, you're no fun!"

Matt glared at him, trying to get a grasp on his temper that had flared up again without warning. _He's so _infuriating!

_Amazing, isn't it? _the little voice said airily.

What is? Matt snapped back, watching Tai fall over the back of the couch, grabbing the remote as he did.

_That after what happened to him, he can still be him._

Matt was silent as he looked over at Tai. He strode over to the couch and looked at him. His eyes were shut and his face was screwed up, as if he was warding off a nightmare. Then his eyes opened again, and he grinned at his half-brother. "So whaddaya wanna watch?" he asked lazily, stretching as he turned on the TV.

Matt smiled gently, then jumped over the top of the couch to sit beside him. "What's on?"

**I can't beleive how short it was. I couldn't go much furthur. -- It was either stop here or not update. I'd rather update. 'Sides...**


End file.
